BAMBOO FLOOR

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Never had expansion and contraction issues with mine, but mine wasn't cheap. Like a lot of flooring products, the price range and what you get for that is very wide. Stability was one of the big selling points for the product I bought. It weighs a tonne too, about twice the weight of a bit of similar timber. Mine runs in a continual length from my front door, up the corridor, throught the lounge, into the back bedroom corridor with no expansion joints - a long way, I'll get a pic later.

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Our's was not cheap either cost over $20,000, the info sheet they gave us with the product told us it was the most stable product on the market. Ours was layed the same as yours only they started at back of house & worked to front door. The house was empty with no skirting boards . This is the second time the floor has done this , it did it in the first room they put down with in the 1st year & when they replaced it under warranty they left a small gap between the last board & the rest of the floor which they filled with a soft gum type filler that acts as a expansion joint . This section of floor is not being replaced this time because it is not affected, unless we pay for it which we will be doing in case there is a difference in the color.

The previous flooring was cork & was down for over 30 years & never had a problem . We were going to go with cork again but it didn't go with the french providential look in the house so went with the bamboo instead . We are going to look at cork again as there a lot more choices now in color & design, & some even look like timber .

Did they glue yours down or lay it like a floating floor. I am sure that is the problem the glue dose not allow it to expand out to the gap between the boards & the wall.
Attachment 136851Attachment 136852Attachment 136853Attachment 136854 The kick rails were left off all the kitchen cupboards & the boards went under the cupboards a couple of hundred mm. I don,t know weather you can see in the photo of hall way but the boards are all ripple from moisture & some of the boards have changed color becoming darker. Most of the area in the photo's is fine but there are some loose boards , if you tap a broom handle on them they sound hollow because they have become unglued .

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Originally Posted by 1950landy

Our's was not cheap either cost over $20,000, the info sheet they gave us with the product told us it was the most stable product on the market. Ours was layed the same as yours only they started at back of house & worked to front door. The house was empty with no skirting boards . This is the second time the floor has done this , it did it in the first room they put down with in the 1st year & when they replaced it under warranty they left a small gap between the last board & the rest of the floor which they filled with a soft gum type filler that acts as a expansion joint . This section of floor is not being replaced this time because it is not affected, unless we pay for it which we will be doing in case there is a difference in the color.

The previous flooring was cork & was down for over 30 years & never had a problem . We were going to go with cork again but it didn't go with the french providential look in the house so went with the bamboo instead . We are going to look at cork again as there a lot more choices now in color & design, & some even look like timber .

Did they glue yours down or lay it like a floating floor. I am sure that is the problem the glue dose not allow it to expand out to the gap between the boards & the wall.

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Wow, I'm starting to think they don't know what they're doing... Mine's a floating floor, layed on a thin foam with mositure barrier. Did it myself. Removed all skirting boards, left a 10mm gap all around, never had an issue. Longest part of the run is right on 20 metres. Most around 10 to 12 metres. I wouldn't have thought gluing them down would be a good idea myself - when they are floating, the while length can expand and contract, but glued down doesn't give them anywhere to go, although I'm no professional floorer....

On the pic attached you can see the length of the run going down the corridor to the front door (Excuse the mess😇) Behind me as about 2 metres more.

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Originally Posted by 1950landy

I think the problem with ours is that they glued it to the slab so it go anywere but up when it expands.

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Ours is laid over pine floorboards with a layer of foam between the old and new. The new floor is not glued down.

Our house was flooded last year. I wanted cork again. No-one wanted to lay it. I was offered "floating cork" .... Which IMO it competelly ****house. I simply don't like floating floors. No-one wants to lay floors properly anymore though. Cork goes down, has numerous coats of laquer over the top. THis means it IS water tight. We have had it layed through "wet areas" etc... Even though apparently this can't be done (it CAN if it isn't the floating crap). The cork is/was brilliant.... absolutely fantastic. The only down side is it is easily marked.

The only issue I have with the bamboo that has replaced it is ....... It's again floating ****. Its all about ease of installation. Now if they fitted the bamboo properly ...ie: glue the boards down. Then coated them with many coats of laquer. It would be absolutely fabulous. However now we are stuck with "floating" ****. So you can't get it wet. As obviously, it's not sealed, so the water will go straight into all the cracks and sit underneath the boards where it will never dry out.

The bamboo is way noisier, and nowhere near as nice as cork IMO. It does look fantastic though. And as a flooring product is brilliant. THey just need to install it properly so it's sealed. Apparently each board has 11 layers of laquer (or something crazy like that). So each board looks spectacular. But sealing each board like this is just dumb unless you seal the floor as an entirety once installed (so water can't get beneath it).

The guy who installed our floors did an absolutely spectacular job. He rebated it under all the of skirting boards and door frames.

seeya,
Shane L.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Wow, I'm starting to think they don't know what they're doing... Mine's a floating floor, layed on a thin foam with mositure barrier. Did it myself. Removed all skirting boards, left a 10mm gap all around, never had an issue. Longest part of the run is right on 20 metres. Most around 10 to 12 metres. I wouldn't have thought gluing them down would be a good idea myself - when they are floating, the while length can expand and contract, but glued down doesn't give them anywhere to go, although I'm no professional floorer....

On the pic attached you can see the length of the run going down the corridor to the front door (Excuse the mess😇) Behind me as about 2 metres more.

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I have been talking to a few people who lay bamboo floor & they are surprised that it has been glued . we have two problems causing the problem , the 1st is the water from the water dispenser in the fridge & rising damp through the slab even though the slab was sealed before the being layed. I do feel the problem is caused by layers who were employed by the importers . When they were laying the floor they were using ratchet load binders to pull the boards together & some times when they pulled them up too tight they would all fly up & they would have to relay them. When they replaced the ones in the bedroom under warranty they were not layed so tight & they used the gummy filler as an expansion joint.
If we lay the bamboo again we will be doing it the same as yours & laying it as a floating floor & will have to pay the extra to do the room the insurance is not doing that way the levels & color's will be the same & it will have the black plastic moisture barrier.
Thanks for your help , Wayne

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Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

Our house was flooded last year. I wanted cork again. No-one wanted to lay it. I was offered "floating cork" .... Which IMO it competelly ****house. I simply don't like floating floors. No-one wants to lay floors properly anymore though. Cork goes down, has numerous coats of laquer over the top. THis means it IS water tight. We have had it layed through "wet areas" etc... Even though apparently this can't be done (it CAN if it isn't the floating crap). The cork is/was brilliant.... absolutely fantastic. The only down side is it is easily marked.

The only issue I have with the bamboo that has replaced it is ....... It's again floating ****. Its all about ease of installation. Now if they fitted the bamboo properly ...ie: glue the boards down. Then coated them with many coats of laquer. It would be absolutely fabulous. However now we are stuck with "floating" ****. So you can't get it wet. As obviously, it's not sealed, so the water will go straight into all the cracks and sit underneath the boards where it will never dry out.

The bamboo is way noisier, and nowhere near as nice as cork IMO. It does look fantastic though. And as a flooring product is brilliant. THey just need to install it properly so it's sealed. Apparently each board has 11 layers of laquer (or something crazy like that). So each board looks spectacular. But sealing each board like this is just dumb unless you seal the floor as an entirety once installed (so water can't get beneath it).

The guy who installed our floors did an absolutely spectacular job. He rebated it under all the of skirting boards and door frames.

seeya,
Shane L.

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I think you hit the nail on the head it all comes down to the guy who lays it. if he does a good job all is good if not :thumbsdown: The problem with Bamboo is it is only coated on the top side & if water gets down between the boards it can soak into the timber & if it is glued down it can only expand up.
The guy who layed our floor kept telling us he was a cabinet maker by trade & that's why he was good at laying flooring. I was not sure if he was trying to convince us or him self how good he was.:unsure:
All this helps us to make our discussion on which way to go bamboo or cork. Thanks every one.
Wayne

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Originally Posted by 1950landy

I think you hit the nail on the head it all comes down to the guy who lays it. if he does a good job all is good if not :thumbsdown: The problem with Bamboo is it is only coated on the top side & if water gets down between the boards it can soak into the timber & if it is glued down it can only expand up.
The guy who layed our floor kept telling us he was a cabinet maker by trade & that's why he was good at laying flooring. I was not sure if he was trying to convince us or him self how good he was.:unsure:
All this helps us to make our discussion on which way to go bamboo or cork. Thanks every one.
Wayne

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I just checked the boards (we have 1/2 packet here left over). They are certainly coated all over .... top, bottom ... sides. I'm betting they actually dip them rather than spray. spectacular looking pieces of wood they are!

ours are lighter and darker colours. They aren't stained. The darker colours are just heat treated to a higher heat.... So they are darker. This means if you ever re-coat or scratch them, they are the same colour all of the way through.

They really do seem to be a fantastic product.

seeya,
Shane L.

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Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I just checked the boards (we have 1/2 packet here left over). They are certainly coated all over .... top, bottom ... sides. I'm betting they actually dip them rather than spray. spectacular looking pieces of wood they are!

ours are lighter and darker colours. They aren't stained. The darker colours are just heat treated to a higher heat.... So they are darker. This means if you ever re-coat or scratch them, they are the same colour all of the way through.

They really do seem to be a fantastic product.

seeya,
Shane L.

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I think you are correct , I just had a look at an off-cut I had here from when the floor was layed , it looks like it may have one coat on bottom & sides & from finish looks like it has been dipped but you can see small areas , places were the coating is missing in the groove , then finishing coats on the top to give smooth finish. When we bought the flooring we were told it could be sanded the same as polished wooden floors & re-coated . Some pick's of the off cut.Attachment 136863Attachment 136864Attachment 136865Attachment 136866Attachment 136867 sides ,end, bottom & cut end which shows how the board is made up.
I am thinking we may go with the bamboo again but not glued that way if the fridge does leak again the boards can expand & when they dry out will shrink back into place.

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Originally Posted by Homestar

Never had expansion and contraction issues with mine, but mine wasn't cheap. Like a lot of flooring products, the price range and what you get for that is very wide. Stability was one of the big selling points for the product I bought. It weighs a tonne too, about twice the weight of a bit of similar timber. Mine runs in a continual length from my front door, up the corridor, throught the lounge, into the back bedroom corridor with no expansion joints - a long way, I'll get a pic later.

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My sister has bamboo like yours and no problems. Mine was not cheap but clearly a cheap product in my view. I will find the brand as it is one to avoid at all costs. The importer came and looked and honestly wish I had made them rip it up and shove it somewhere dark![biggrin]

With ducted air con the house is kept at a constant 20deg all year around so it shouldn' t be a temp problem , the expansion has to be a moisture problem